She's this incredible woman whom I really admire. She's Palestinian, and I was inspired by her and thought we could do some sort of women's Middle Eastern initiative," Portman says. "When I contacted her office, they said she was really excited about FINCA. I had no idea what that meant, so I started exploring it. And then I started traveling with them to learn about it."

She has found something of a role model in Queen Rania. "She's so warm and so smart. She's an incredible, incredible woman," Portman says.
"I've always been suspicious of monarchy, with our culture of democracy, but their monarchs are better than our elected officials. They're doing so much good for their nation," she says.

Queen Rania - The philanthropist
Beautiful and intelligent, and balancing a modern outlook with a deep concern for her people, Jordan's Queen Rania seems in many ways to represent the optimistic face of the Middle East's future. Since she entered the spotlight after she married then Prince Abdullah in 1993, she has become known for her philanthropic work, pushing for better educational facilities for Jordan's school children and supporting efforts to empower women.